Men’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player award history, winners

Yearly on the shut of the Males’s School World Sequence, one participant is awarded Most Excellent Participant honors. The award is introduced to the faculty baseball participant who placed on the perfect efficiency on the MCWS in Omaha, Nebraska.

LSU pitcher Kade Anderson is the newest recipient of the award after the Tigers received their eighth nationwide title in program historical past in 2025. Anderson threw an entire sport shutout in Recreation 1 towards Coastal Carolina, giving up simply three hits and 5 walks and notching 10 strikeouts.

The MCWS Most Excellent Participant Award: What’s it?

The Males’s School World Sequence started in 1947 when California defeated Yale 8-7 for the primary DI baseball nationwide championship. Not solely was the locale misplaced — the championship was determined in Kalamazoo, Michigan — however so was the Most Excellent Participant trophy. Or ought to we are saying, lack thereof?

CWS HISTORY: Coaches with most wins | Most titles | Most appearances | Conference trips

Tom Hamilton was the primary recipient of the celebrated honor, nevertheless it wasn’t till the third Males’s School World Sequence that the award was introduced. He took residence the award — now formally named the Jack Diesing, Sr. Most Excellent Participant Award — in 1949 within the first of the Texas Longhorns’ six nationwide championship victories.

Hamilton occurred to be on the profitable crew, however that is not at all times been the case. The Most Excellent Participant award is given to the perfect total efficiency in Omaha, from the primary pitch of the CWS to the final. Generally, record-setting performances — like Dave Winfield’s for Minnesota in 1973 — are sufficient for the award, however fall simply wanting a nationwide title.

Starting in 1999, the trophy itself took on a brand new look. The winner of the Most Excellent Participant award received to take residence a smaller model of the enduring “Street to Omaha” trophy set exterior of Charles Schwab Discipline Omaha. The strong bronze statue is sixteen inches tall and weighs almost 50 kilos.

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The CWS Most Excellent Participant Award: Who will get it?

As we talked about, that is an award for the perfect total efficiency from the complete Males’s School World Sequence portion of the championship match. The winner is set by a vote of the media members at the ultimate sequence.

All media readily available in Omaha get to vote for his or her selection starting within the fifth inning of Recreation 2 of the championship sequence. Voting closes within the eighth inning when ballots are counted and a winner is set.

MOP 🤝 Kade Anderson#MCWS x @LSUbaseball pic.twitter.com/80YwCdyEE5

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 22, 2025

No less than they hope.

Ought to the MCWS championship sequence go to the decisive third sport, properly, these votes are thrown away and the method takes place once more in the identical trend.

The MCWS Most Excellent Participant Award: Historical past of winners

Texas first baseman Tom Hamilton was the primary faculty baseball participant to earn the honors on the Males’s School World Sequence in 1949. Hamilton was a primary baseman, the primary of seven to win the award through the years. Kade Anderson of LSU is the newest winner. He is the thirty ninth pitcher to earn the honour.

Pitchers have dominated the award. Thirty-nine pitchers have captured MOP honors, with six of these pitchers being utility gamers contributing with the bat as properly. Infielders are the second-most ample recipient of the award, with 22 full-time place gamers. 13 outfielders have grabbed the award and so have 5 catcher, most just lately Adley Rutschman’s record-setting efficiency for Oregon State in 2018 including to the checklist. Miami (FL)’s Greg Ellena is the one full-time designated hitter to win Most Excellent Participant. 

Just one MOP discovered his option to the Main League Baseball Corridor of Fame. Minnesota’s Dave Winfield has that honor, nevertheless, there are many acquainted names that received MLB World Sequence, awards, and All-Star nods. Sal Bando — the 1965 winner — was a four-time All-Star and three-time World Sequence winner with the Oakland A’s. Bob Horner received the award in 1977 for Arizona State and have become the primary total decide within the 1978 MLB draft, incomes Rookie of the Yr honors that very same 12 months. Terry Francona has turn into one of many extra profitable managers in latest MLB lore, whereas Phil Nevin, Pat Burrell, Dansby Swanson and Paul Skenes are a number of the newer names to be chosen No. 1overall within the MLB draft. 

Maybe unsurprisingly, Southern California and LSU — the highest two applications with probably the most School World Sequence titles — are tied for probably the most recipients of the award with seven. Texas sits simply behind them with six, whereas Arizona State and Cal State Fullerton every have 5.

Extra juniors have received the award than another class with 28. Seniors are second with 21, whereas sophomores path with 17. Freshmen have accounted for six Most Excellent Participant awards with Kumar Rocker’s win in 2019.

We talked about Dave Winfield and his tremendous 1973 College World Series when his 29 strikeouts over two begins (nonetheless third all-time) earned him MOP honors regardless of Minnesota falling wanting the title. He’s truly joined by 15 others whose groups didn’t win a nationwide championship. John Hudgins of Stanford is the newest to perform the feat in 2003. The others:

Ray Van Cleef (1950, Rutgers), Sidney Hatfield (1951, Tennessee), J.L. Smith (1953, Texas), Tom Yewcic (1954, Michigan State), Tom Borland (1955, Oklahoma A&M), Cal Emery (1957, Penn State), Littleton Fowler (1961, Oklahoma State), Bob Garibaldi (1963 Santa Clara), Joe Ferris (1964, Maine), Gene Ammann (1970, Florida State), Jerry Tabb (1971, Tulsa), Phil Nevin (1992, Cal State Fullerton), Pat Burrell (1996, Miami), and Marshall McDougall (1999, Florida State).

Beneath is the whole checklist of Most Excellent Participant winners: